Typically Norwegian

When I first got this assignment from the teacher, I thought of all the obvious answers.

What is typically Norwegian? I asked some people on-line and the very first answers I got were fjords, snow, skiing, ice-bears(!) and so on. But all these are classic examples when people are talking about Norway. I thought there must be something else than ’just’ nature that is typically Norwegian.

Norway is a very rich country, and many Norwegians like to concider their country as a very important one in peace/war-issues and world-politics, that if it wasn’t for Norway’s efforts, the world would collapse very soon.. Well this is a very patriotic thought, but maybe a little misleading. Norway wouldn’t be the country it is today without its rich oil-resources. This makes people in Norway narrow-minded and some get the feeling of superiority and they think they are better than other people.

A reporter once interviewed a number of people in the big cities in Norway and asked them what they thought foreigners thought were the lamest thing about Norwegian behaviour in general, and most of them answered ”the jante behaviour”. ”Jante-loven” or ”The law of Jante” is a Norwegian poem:

1.Du skal ikke tro at du *er* noe.

Thou shalt not presume that thou art anyone [important].

2.Du skal ikke tro at du er like saa meget som *oss*.

Thou shalt not presume that thou art as good as us.

3.Du skal ikke tro at du er klokere en *oss*.

Thou shalt not presume that thou art any wiser than us.

4.Du skal ikke innbille deg du er bedre enn *oss*.

Thou shalt never indulge in the conceit of imagining that thou art better than us.

5.Du skal ikke tro du vet mere enn *oss*.

Thou shalt not presume that thou art more knowledgeable than us.

6.Du skal ikke tro du er mere enn *oss*.

Thou shalt not presume that thou art more than us [in any way].

7.Du skal ikke tro at *du* duger til noe.

Thou shalt not presume that that thou art going to amount to anything.

8. Du skal ikke le av *oss*.

Thou art not entitled to laugh at us.

9. Du skal ikke tro at noen bryr seg om *deg*.

Thou shalt never imagine that anyone cares about thee.

10. Du skal ikke tro at du kan lære *oss* noe.

Thou shalt not suppose that thou can teach us anything

This is a very normal way for foreigners to see Norwegians. So for some people this filosophy rules in Norway.

The sense of individuality and that ”we can manage ourselves”-mentality is almost as strong as in the USA. This is perhaps one of the biggest reasons Norway is not member of the European Union (EU).

You might think I am stigmatizing Norwegians with all this, but in fact there is good in these cold humans; Norwegians are hard-working people with a good sense for design, new ideas and originality. Norway produce great musicians and they really DO play an important role in world-politics (the middle-east issue and Nobel’s price).

Norwegians are happy givers. They give a lot of money to charity and to peace-organizations. The Norwegian government also gives billions of kroner every year to poor countries.

Many Norwegians pick on Americans and their way of life. ”Americans are so dumb.. Americans sucks.. Americans have no personality..” In fact; If it wasn’t for America’s efforts in WWII, Norway would’ve been a communist country. Thanks to America Norway has a democratic, monarchistic government. Norwegians love their king and queen and wouldn’t trade them for a president in a long time.

Norwegians also pick on Swedes. It is normal for Norwegians to make fun of Swedes and make jokes about how dumb they are. This is a very old tradition from ages ago, when Norway was owned by Sweden. In the last couple of years Norwegian humor has become very weird and lines are getting crossed very often. Actors and stand-up comedians are constantly getting harsh words from the older generations of Norwegians. Old Norwegians are often very conservative and strict.

Why?

I believe that some reasons Norwegians may seem cold and a bit reserved is because of the weather they have over there. It’s cold and people stay inside a lot. Also in the old days there were long distances between cities and towns and people didn’t see eachother much besides their own family. This made them a little sceptic to other folks. The nearest thing they came to racism were talking dirt about people in the neighbour town.

Norwegians have been aware of this problem for some time now, and they try to fix this image by being very helpfull and travel a lot. Also technology has helped Norwegians to travel from place to place, see new people, get used to other cultures.

I lived for 3 years in Norway and the happiest day of my life was when I left this country. I cannot say that Norwegians are stupid but I can definitely assume that they are racist and arrogant. I am white and European, just try to imagine how are you treated beeing black...
There are some shocking things in Norway, impossible to ignore if you have a minimum degree of education:

1) There is a big propaganda, even in kindergardens, which proclaim that Norway is the best country in the world and Norwegians are the happiest people in the world.
In reality Norway is one of the most boring country possible, the cold and dark (in upper parts) make it even depressive and people reflects this reality on their personality. They are not rude in my opinion, they are simply cold, icy, no feelings, no warm blood. Just mutants...
2) The Norwegian nature, one of the country's big pride, is not...natural! Because of the cold climate, they almost have no flowers, the grass and the tree leafs doesn't smell at all, they don't have that typical nature smell like in a normal forest (in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, etc). The views are scenery, but only and only if you a painter or photographer.
3) Economically, the country is almost communist. The government has a lot of restrictive laws, people are extremely controlled (mostly by the banks), and the most shocking rule possible, the annual income is posted on the internet!!! Everyone can know how much earned his neighbour, his brother, his friend...
4) People's menthality is almost Nazi. First of all there is a big legend about Norwegian Resistance during WW2. There were the heroes of Telemark, I agree, but 90% of the population were happy to collaborate with the Nazi. Many of them knows even today German very well, many of them consider that Germany were one of the "good guys" in WW2. Norwegians are educated and they are convinced that everything which is not Norwegians simply stinks...
4) There are some very stupid laws: you cannot buy a beer after 8 PM, you cannot buy a bottle of wine from supermarket at all (there are just some shops named Vinmonopolet), you cannot have a normal Visa Card to buy online in the first 3 months after you open a bank account
5) The climate is freezing!!!! You cannot imagine, I lived in Oppland where were also minus 42, even minus 50 last winter. There is no summer at all, the average except South Norway is about 18C and cloudy.
In conclusion, there are a lot of legands and a lot of hypocrisy about this country. Of course Norway is a civilized country, no doubt about it, but as a foreigner you feel really like in cage, or a prison.

most of the norwegians will laugh with u but don't get too attached!,they are hypocrites, they think that they have everything, they love to be praised, the first thing they will ask u is; what do u think abt norway? it a test to discuss you afterwards. you can only eat two potatoes on the table or else u will be the topic of their conversation.Be ready to be pushed aside on the road with no apology.they get frustratd if u succeeed in their country, they judge u for no reason if u have a different cultural bakground. they are sneaky, they make up stories to the authorities, your children can even be confiscated. they get quickly tired of people after knowing them.they are fake. it took me 7 years to understand them, there is no single norwegian that i will ever call a friend, they are not my enemies either, but i will never create a link.

It happened that I moved to Norway because of my hasbund... I just want to deliver my message who consider to move to Norway but hesitate. People, do NOT come here if you want to be mentally helthy and sustain harmonious life. Norway is a psychological torture. I have been travelled the world, but nowhere else I met so many ignorant, stereotype dependent, cold people-robots. And it is f..ng cold and boring too. Plus you will have to pay lots and lots of money for everything even it is not worth a penny.. Just stay away from this 'best' country of the world.

Norwegians have problem with personal hygiene, kill 1000 whales a year and sell meat to Japan, are "legends in their own minds" mean nothing in world politics, have high import tariffs so their subsidized "Norwegian" goods could have no competition and be called "best". Have deep inferiority complex, got independence only 100 years ago, cooperated with Nazi Germany during WWII, before 1960 were the poorest country in Europe. Know little about the world outside, most TV programs are Americans, 'till 1970 there were only 2 radio station and TV stations run by the government, they don't buy their women flowers and never hold the door for you, very simple uneducated people, descendents of peasants and fishermen. Stones, trees, water and simple people, that's Norway. They didn't "created" Norway, the fjords etc, they just live there.

I'm Norwegian but have lived in England for the past 10 years. I can find many faults with Norway, but nobodu is perfect. Norways wealth comes from oil, but also fish. There is nothing wrong with that. Saudi Arabia was a country of nomads until they found oil and that brought them wealth.
America got some of their wealth from WW2. Europe was in ruins and America had a chance to export goods and hand out loans. They had the upper hand after the war and used it well. They only helped us when it became apparent that Hitler would fall. Americans believe they are forwards thinking and have a right to rule the world. The fact is that only a small fraction of Americans actually pohave a passport and have been out of the country. President Bush had NEVER been outside America until he became president. Now that is a scary thought. Less than 50 years ago African americans were hung and burnt on crosses. Martin Luther King was assasinated for being black and challangeing the mindset of America. The women have had the vote for less than 100 years. I find it strange that with it's difficult past Americans expect democracy to be installed within months in other countries.
Norway is a great place to bring up children. It's safe and it's clean. Family life is valued and we have a very high standard of living. A huge proportions of black ameriacns live below the poverty line and hurrican Katerina underlines the problem there is with racism in the states. By the way you forgot to thank all the thousands of brits that helped us during the war and died for our freedom. I think it's a sad fact that the film "Hero's of telemark" is viewed and loved in the Uk, while norwegians have hardly heard of it.
Norwegians might belive in jante loven, but I have seen kids grow up in the UK thinking they can do anything. I think you need to know your limitations, but at the same time celebrate your talents.
The worst think about Norway is that the younger generation is willing to forgive and forget what our grand parents and great gran parents did for us. I went to a memorial a few weeks ago to remember a british flight crew that crashed during WW2. They had come over to set up goverment until we got our own goverment up and running. A norwegian said to me "what are we remembering somebody we don't know?" Norway is a great country, but people have forgotten the price we had to pay to make it great. I don't think many people today would be willing to make the same sacrifses today.

Well since you are pointing fingers on Norway about how "rude" we are, and why we are rude. Oh yes, since Norway doesnt have cars or trains we cant get to each other, so we get mad at each other and make jokes you find bad. I find you to be stupid after reading this. The only thing you bring out here is norway is accutally bad and only rich because of oil. Well then, the UK is only rich because you made people into slaves, took their land, their wealth (mines in africa) and made colonies. Now if that is better than Norway being based on Oil then I"ll be darned. Another thing, I am half american, and I can honestly say, most americans are stupid, maybe a harsh word but its true. The education system in Norway is way better than the one in the U.S. I"m not saying Norway is perfect, but education wise, hell yeah. Now you"re righting that Norway wouldnt be shit if it haddent been for the U.S during WW2. Well guess what, so wouldnt Britain either. Not after WW1 ( Which Norway didnt take part in) and not after WW2. Before you write shit about something, be sure that you cant get more shit thrown back in your face, because Norway might have a bad history with Vikings, but compared to the colonies and racial discrimination that has happened in the UK and US, Norway is a little lamb.

Hi, really nice one, it does speak my mind, I am from India, I have travelled extensively and this sort of mentality i havent seen elsewhere, no doubt that the Norwegians are dumb and arrogant and refuse to admit that and they think all others are stupid even though they depend on others for high end skilled jobs as they have very few of their own.In this globalised world they can only behave like that in their own teritory, I have lived here and will carry back these memories to my country and spread the word around so we could reflect their image down there, if it was not for the oil they would have ended nowhere, as for intelectuality and looking at things in a global prespective they fall far behind, Norwegians suddenly saw so much wealth at once so thats what makes them arrogant, people who have been well of throughout their generations do not behave like this.

HI! your texts is ok written I guess, but I cant say I agree with you. You can't possibly think that Norwegians aare doing anything wrong crizising Americans. You should know that America is the most undemocratic of the democratic countries!! not even half of their population votes in the elections cause the goverment makes them so scared by saying that they'll have to come to jury-duty if the do.. which by the way average americans cant afford, most americans are actually poor!! this is a direct result of the american goverments politics; no well feare at all... Norway is the best country to live in according to the UN.. you should have written something about that, your text is a bit single tracked... you are far to narrow minded when you describe norway. try opening up for other angles too next time!

Norwegians, are extremely full of their own very misguided importance in the world, which is actually abig fat zro. At the same time you sense they know this and compensate accordingly. What did they do in the middle-east peace process, oh yes thats right they provided the location, well done! and the outcome of those negotiations, a big fat zero agin! The Nobel peace prize they take credit for when in fact i was a hand-out award from the Nobel institute in Sweden. Norway wouldbe on a par economically as somewhere like Portugal or Ireland without the oil, fact, history shows this. They are indoctrinated by media and government with a 'verdens beste' mentality (best in the world) to the ridiculous point where Norwegians start telling you Norway has 'verden's beste' tomatoes and strawberries! what!? Its ridiculous and mostly Norwegians are ridiculous, yes they travel but las in my opinion remain very xenophobic deep down, they wont dare to express it, because they never 'express' anything but this is without doubt one of the most deeply racist countries I have ever known, it's just no-one speaks up, but you learn norwegian and listen to them talking amongst themselves about foreigners scary stuff. And how many thnic people do you see in a suit in Oslo, a country with 15%non-ethnicity, that speaks volumes,they can work at Burger King or Din Sko but this country is very racist. In short I can cope with the small minded mentality and ignorance in this country, but it's the completely unjustified sense of superiority you experience here, Norway hasn't done anything of worth for 1000 yrs and the last time it was sailing the sea to rape conquer and pillage, of course they're very proud of their Vikings, tells the story really

if u were born in norway or move there as a child, you'd look at the norwegian population a whole different way. i have some black/coloured friends, and me myself and some of my other friends when we are with them, always make jokes and stuff about them, and guess what!?!? THEY LAUGH! they think its funny, cuz we're just having fun, and they make just as many racist comments towards us white ppl, but it's just for FUN!!!
and now i'll comment the statements u made about norway.
1. first of all, i never experienced or have seen any type of propaganda my whole life in norway. Also Norway is not a boring place at all!!! that's all i have to say to that. I don't know where you lived, but how does it being cold and dark make it depressive? Norway is located far north, that's why it's cold, and that's why it gets dark early in the winter. In the summer however, it can be just as warm as any other place in Europe. Also, some prefer the cold and the snow, others prefer warmth and the sun.
2. BULLSHIT! u can't decide what a forest is supposed to smell like! and the nature is as natural as it can get. Norway has soo much more nature (better nature) than any of the other countries u mentioned!
3. Ok, who cares if someone else knows how much u earn? i certainly don't. and we're also not communist, besides, why is being a communist country so bad?
4. WHAT!?!?!?!?!i don't no who told u this, but its all bullshit! If 90% of the population were happy to collaborate with the nazi, then why didn't we? we tried to rescue jews and others whom were sent to concentration/death camps. We were alliances with great britain whom also fought against the nazis. You're also being quite stereotyped when u say "the germans, or germany" because not all of them were nazis! we also never considered the nazis "the good guys"....who told u this?!?!?!?!? and it sure sonds like u were educated and convinced that everything that IS norwegian stinks...
4. (u wrote two 4s by the way ) emmm i've bought beer after 8pm (where in norway did u live?) hahahhaha yes!!! of course u can buy wine at a normal supermarket! and i'm not sure about the Visa Card....
5. hahaha last winter was the coldest winter in almost 100 years and oppland is in the inland so of course it's gunna be colder there than along the coast where i live (stavanger). hell yeah there's summer!!!!! i took my first trip to the beach in early may ( approx. 14 degrees Celsius in the air) and the last one in mid september (12 degrees Celsius in the air) and it was a lot colder in the water. so if u need it to be 25 degrees for u to go swimming, then ur just a pussy pluss norwegians are used to the weather, and if u moved from a country further south from here, then sure u'll think its freezing.

I don't agree with that statement because i meet new people all the time who have just moved to norway, and they love it here!!! they get accepted, there is NO racism rely, just as jokez with close friends

Please don't say that all norwegians are dumb, and all norwegians are narrow minded, etc. Some may be, but not all of us. Don't judge all the people in a country just from a few. THAT is narrow minded.
- Yours sincerely a norwegian girl that's not narrow minded or stupid (and half russian, but that doesn't really matter. I'm not trying to defend Norway or anything, but I hate that kind of judging)

I think you're a little to easy on your comments, not punchy enough. I also reckon some of your comments could have been better argumented for, but I am not saying I disagree with you. I am actually delighted to see that not everyone are completely morons.

I loved your take on the assignment.

Kristine, UNs claim that Norway is so good to live in is based on pieces of paper and national wealth, what our contribution to all kinds of foreign activities is and so on. we still have loads of homeless and poor people and sick people. There are no room for that in a welfare state. Maybe Norway is above average, but there are so much wrong in our society, and if you don't see that, then I will personally make you the Princess of Jante.

Lisa os! You are dumb! Norwegians are good with personal hygiene! Ita whery important to us! And its stupid to say that we arnt gentelmen! Norwegian men lov ther girls and do hold up doors and do alott of romantic things for ther girls. If sombody is simpel mindend it is you! Norway is a great place to liv! And its a fact! Se love to travel and se love to see how others liv and gett to know them and yes we can be a bitt shay butt gett to known us and you have a friend for life. And it bs that we can thank usa for ww2! We can thank the brits for 1. Helping ouer troops in the north in battel with the germans and the pols,fernch. 2.the took in ouer royal familiy! 3. The help and educated ouer troops in england og help them with everything! When the war ended the americans came to norway and wher bigshots! What we can thank the americans for is that the help the army after the war with army gear and wepons but they profited from it to! But!! We have always have a big american influens by movis seris and for me i always lovd the usa! And i love 80s american films! And i love the hole consept of america! And the cars from the 20-70s. So i am going to america next summer and drive rout66 in a 1967 camaro ss. And one thing i have ti say to norwgians: they american beer is good and really well brewd. So dont comfuse bud and miller with american beer! Try samuel adams,broklyn,hoonkers and so on!
Peace!

Exuse me. Who are you to sit behind your computer and judge us? So many things you've written sounds incredible stupid and wrong. Please do your research next time. But you got some things right, I'll give you that.

You are so right Katarina.
Norway may well be secretly a communist country.... with a democratic tag attached to it. I had this "metal problem" for the first 2 years. That was in Bergen. Those were the worst times....
However,Norwegians on AVERAGE are very friendly people. But then again, many of my Norwegian friends are half Chilien, German, Sri Lankan, English but many are what people call "ethnic Norwegians".
And Norwegians are very narrow minded. It's as if the world revolves around them. I hadn't even heard of Norway when I was growing up, and would never have but thanks thanks to my parents jobs, I am not like one of those innvadarar.
I appreciate their inclination towards their own culture. But frankly, there is too much of Kristendommen involved. In schools, I being from a different religion have no problem about learning about other religions, but this fokus på Christianity puts me off. I think their ancestors would be a bit angry because they were converted at canon-point.
PS: I am wondering how long the oil reserves will last!
But overall, Norway RULES!!!!
Best country!
But I hate Norwegian food.
Except Risgrøt.
Every country has its pros and cons. But Norway is only here because of Oil!

Ok ? Seriously? Everybody is so angry, and mad at each other ! There is a lot of comments here that is seriously stupid ! I am NOT going to judge anyone, but there is people who is soo narrowminded ! And that is people that defend and attack Norway. Yes, Norway is EXTREMELY expensive, but we already knew that. I've been living in Norway my whole life (16 years), and , HELL YEAH, it's cold here. But that is because we are so far from equatorial, and not every country is warm ? Last time I checked, a country can be fun even though it is cold. And in this article you are writing, you only focus on the bad things, and Janteloven is not a law that is important in Norway. Maybe you should check your sources ? I am not saying that Norway is perfect, but is there a country in the world that is perfect? Just saying !

Think twice before you are saying things out loud
Obviously I love Norway, I am a true Norwegian, but that does'nt mean that I don't like other countries, and think that Norway is the best place in the world. Is there a best place in the world?

I really can't understand some of you, people ..... No, I'm not a Norwegian trying to defend my country but when I see people being so unfair and exaggerating that much then I get mad. 1st of all , wake up ! Norway is not the little brother- slave of MR BOSS Sweden anymore (no offense Swedes,just saying the truth) who's dependent in a bigger force. It's an independent country having it's own king,goverment,laws, freedom... with it's possitive and negatives just like the other countries. So yes,Norwegians have the right to be proud about their country's history and the rest of positive stuff they have, ( who isn't ????) . But does that mean that they don't respect other countries ? Only a narrow minded could say that. I'm from Greece and I'm very proud for my own country and its great history and love it to death, and I also like talking about Greece to strangers but for God's Sake, I love and respect other countries too...... doesn't mean that I have a superiority feeling. And trust me a Norwegian doesn't either have it (of course with the exceptions of some maniacs who EXIST in every country...). They just live in a rich country with a very high standar of living compared to other countries and they just recognize it, what the hell is wrong with that ? If they didn't it would be the problem in my humble opinion. Being arrogant is faaaar faaar away from recognizing your country's possitives. Who says that they don't respect other countries because of that? All of you, negative commentators, aren't you proud about your country ??? If not, then sorry but with all the respect ladies ang gentlemen,but YOU have the problem Do not confuse that with arrogance... PEACE

Hia! Norwegian guy here ÷) I must say that I agree with almost everything that has been mentioned! The laws about buying alcohol after a certain time suck! The climate is COLD from august-april. If you live alone you can barely make it on a lower-class salary.
I agree we might seem cold and unapproachable but, speaking for myself, I dont think Im better than anyone else (except the ones who think they are better than ME like the upper-class). I like the americans because they have the crazy ability to walk up and start talking to me! For no apparent reason! Love it! Not able to do it myself tho.. Been taught to "Dont bother other people".
I would love to greet any one of you in Oslo at any time and diss the norwegian society with you. Except... there really is nothing to do here other than walk around looking at overpriced merchandise.. BUT I know ONE bar with "cheap" beer! "Only" 8$ for 0.5ltr. PS: Do NOT come in wintertime. We do not have polar bears or any other fascinating things you might have heard of. LIES!

There have been a lot of things that werent discussed. I have lived in Norway for 7 years and I agree with most of the things people said but not all norwegians are the same. I have met some very intelligent norwegian friends who arent full of norway and as a matter of fact nationalism exists everywhere and generations are being brainwashed and taught to love their country to death. Some of the assholes who can think for themselves do not get caught up and those assholes exist in all the countries. I myself is one of them cunts. Im at a point where I dont feel associated with any country on this planet earth. Now you might think its abnormal then its not your fault. Its just that you're not a cunt like me All governments/systems are rip offs. They suck the money out of everybody. If you can manage to think out of the box, you as a norwegian would also be able to see how you are being ripped off in the name of nationalism and the greatest social security system in the world. Look at the imprt/export...how some people have monopolized the industry leaving the nation with substandard products on shelves with some stores in oslo as an exception, population being the only reason. I'd finish off with one sentence...once a friend asked me what is norwegian traditional bbq? Anything special? And all I could think of was hotdogs Its no1's fault but follow the money and you will be shocked. I salute my intelligent norwegian cunts who are aware of whats going on and I feel sorry for the ones who prefer to see no evil, hear no evil and say no evil. Har det bra

Don't understand why you say that Norway would be communist if it wasn't for the US.. call me Jante if you want, but if you state something like that, use hard evidence as foundation.. in this context that is irrelevant

I have chosen to write about the fishing occupation. Since there is a huge difference from fishermen on the coast of Mexico and one on a huge fishing boat far out on the cold seas of the Bering Sea, I narrowed it down to the last mentioned (fishermen on big boats being out to seas for months). Let’s begin with building up a picture of the classic fisherman. If you are familiar with the series “the deadliest catch” on Discovery channel you would know the stereotypic view of the proud fisherman, but if you are not up after eleven I’m going to explain.
The fishermen I have focused on are fishermen living on catching crabs, since there are only two seasons on Discovery channel, one in October and one in January.
These men are spending weeks on the seas, having little sleep, working in blistering cold rain, having a risky job (Alaskan crab fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world). The fishermen earn as much as they bring in, so if they get a good catch the fishermen will earn enough to survive to next season, but if they get a bad catch they might not make it till next season. A stressful life you might say.

“The deadliest catch” shows the high-risk job of the crew on 24 different boats on the harsh Bering sea.
They shot the ups and downs of the seasons, the good catch where everyone walks away with wallets filled to the brim, the bad catch where the workers travel home with pockets empty. They also shot the deadly storms that smash the deck and kills the crabs already caught (the boat got be steady or else the crab will smash into each other and die, and you won’t get paid for dead crabs) and the clear days that drives the fishermen insane (one of the most hated color among the fishermen is light gray).
The show gives you a sight on the fishermen as hardworking, proud and honest. Putting them in danger to give their families a good life, but also gives a view of the fishermen as jolly and playful workers.
We also got a series of films as “The perfect storm” and “Jason Bourne”, but there is not much about their work ethics and life on board the boat.

How realistic is this description of the average fisherman?
Well, I doubt that he is as rough as the films and series make them look like. Of course they need to be tough to be able to make it at sea for that long, but the show does give a little too rough picture of the men working on these boats (if it were as hectic and dangerous as it seems they wouldn‘t need to film 24 boats to get enough clips for a season). We get a view of the fishermen as adventurous and brave, and that might have some truth behind it, but they travel back to the same spots each season so I doubt they get that much adventure. When it comes to bravery I think that depends, but I think cowards steer away from this occupation (I get this image of pirates living the sweet life, but that might just be me). I also get the feeling that the average fishermen is a family man, leaving with tears in his eyes when going out to sea to feed his family. Some of them might be like that, but you got to have some special connection to the sea to travel out there for weeks on end.
Some of them seem a little special. Since I don’t like the sea that much I would also call them slightly insane, but they also seem like a jolly crowd to be around. Joking with each other and sticking together during the trips, you might say that they are more like a big family then friends.
I did mix in some of my opinions in the description, but let’s hope it’s not too much influenced by my thoughts. Let’s begin with toughness. For how though is really a fisherman? I think he is rough on the outside but much softer on the inside, not being able to complain (knowing that it won’t get him home faster nor will it make the other crew members more happy). It is also a masculine occupation so they might feel the need to live up to that image. I also think they love their jobs, because making it on that boat for that long is not for someone that doesn’t like to be out at sea. And when you love your job you don`t go around saying it`s hard, so people might think you are tougher then you really are (just as if you saw a man bathing in an ice bath, you might think “tough guy”, but he might just love it and therefore seem rough).
Next up is bravery and lust for adventure. I think they are really brave having such a hard job, but that might just be because I don’t like the sea that much. Some of the fishermen might seek adventure in the beginning, but I think it is more about freedom than finding adventure.
A family man? Well, what can I say? Family men are in all shapes and forms so you can’t pick one group of occupations and say “that’s an occupation for family men”, so I don’t link being a good father and an occupation together (even though it might not be good for the child to be away from his dad for weeks).
I think you got to be a mad to work at sea, but it’s also a good kind of mad (a little insanity always creates people who are fun to be around). Being able to joke with each other and to have fun is important when you`re you’re locked on a boat for weeks with other people. You might need that extra little action to have fun when you’re not working.
So I think they have “pirate spirit” (Being jolly, tell old tales, you name it). I would have loved to stay around them to learn from them, but since I don’t find the ocean that luring I try to stay away from it.

"This makes people in Norway narrow-minded and some get the feeling of superiority and they think they are better than other people." well... sounds nice but i think your lacking info on this. well im norwegian, got a quite lot of money but i have never ever thought i was better than anyone. and i am pretty sure none of my friends does ether. @Katrina well you probaly moved to a very strange place because i NEVER have experienced that with anyone.